Toys designed to educate kids about coding are becoming popular in Korea

Updated: 2018-01-19 11:17:12 KST

The devices and online services we use today are made possible by talented computer coders.
The ability to code is considered a pathway to many of the jobs of the future.
But it's not something everyone catches on to easily.
To make computer programing more interesting and less stressful for beginniners, toys are hitting the shelves and are seeing some tangible results.
Coding toys are especially popular among children, since they can do things ordinary toys cannot.

For instance, this color-sensing toy can sense and follow up and down the colored line… while some fancier ones can even differentiate multiple colors at once.
Another top seller is a cat robot made of Lego blocks, which moves its tail and screeches when a baby bottle is put on its mouth.

(KOREAN)
"As long as you punch in the right coding and have a motor and a sensor, you can make your toy take commands and follow your orders."

Computer science experts highly recommend learning to code at young age…because it clearly demonstrates how rough ideas are turned into concrete output.

(KOREAN)
"Coding is useful because it provides a vivid picture of how questions are solved when you put in the right formulas. Beginners can easily get a grasp of computational logic, which is vital knowledge that plays big part in the digital era."

As of 2018, coding will officially be added to the curriculum taught in public elementary schools. And to fulfill the educational demands, more coding toys and smartphone applications for young learners will be made available in the near future.
Cho Sung-min, arirang news.